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Literary Women’s Prize

The Literary Women’s Prize was established to recognise and encourage women’s writing and provide a platform for publication. Awarded annually, the writing prize is open to writers from anywhere in the world.

First prize winner receives $1,000.

All shortlisted winning entries will be published in Anthologia 2027, an international publication by The Kind Press with Simon & Schuster Australia sales and distribution.

We are honoured to bring additional recognition to the important literary life of all women.

Literary Women’s Prize for Short Story

The 2027 Literary Women’s Writing Prize for Short Story was established to recognise and encourage women’s writing and provide a platform for publication. Awarded annually, the writing prize is open to writers from anywhere in the world.

First prize winner receives $1,000. All shortlisted winning entries will be published in Anthologia 2027, an international publication by The Kind Press with Simon & Schuster Australia sales and distribution.

Key Dates

Prize opens for submissions
28 September 2026, 9am AEST

Prize closes for submissions
12 February 2027, 5pm AEDT

A discounted early-bird entry fee of $33 (GST inclusive) applies from Monday 28 September 2026 to 5pm Sunday 29 November 2026. A general entry fee of $45 (GST inclusive) applies.

Shortlist announcement
April 2027

Winner announcement
May 2027

Application Elements

Entries must be unpublished (anything that has appeared in the public arena, is considered published). Each submission will require a separate entry form and is subject to a separate entry fee. There is no restriction on theme or style.

What to Submit

We accept fiction or nonfiction, including poetry, essays, or mixed-form writing.

Entries must be:

  • A maximum of 2,600 words in length (no minimum)
  • Poems must be single poems with a maximum length of 50 lines and must not exceed 1,000 words

Files must be submitted in Word Document format, in Times New Roman, 12 point, double-spaced with page numbers and the working title of the work on every page.

Full terms and conditions of eligibility can be found here. Submissions that do not meet these criteria will be deemed ineligible.

Eligibility requirements

 

  1. Entry is open to women and non-binary writers who identify with the Prize’s purpose to promote women’s writing, in ways that align with the writer’s own gender identity. This includes cis women, trans women and non-binary people.
  2. Entrants must be 18 years or older as of 1 February 2027.
  3. Entries to the Prize are accepted as digital files only. Files will not be shared with any outside parties.
  4. All submissions must be written in English.

 

Our judging process
A panel of five women, all passionate readers and at the top of their respective professions, choose the winner of the Literary Women’s Prizes. All works will be read by our judges. Judges plunge immediately into reading, basing their deliberations for the longlist, shortlist and winner on three core tenets: excellence, originality and accessibility. 

Resubmissions & refunds: Submissions are final and fees are non-refundable. It is not possible to amend or alter a submission that has been entered. If you wish to resubmit an altered work, this can be done as a new additional submission.

Payment Summary
All entry fees go directly toward running the Literary Women’s Prize, including prize money, platform costs, essential admin, PR, judging, legal support, marketing and outreach. The prize simply could not exist without entry fees. If you have any questions about how the prize is administered, please reach out to us.

We carefully vet our projects on literary merit alone for high standards. We reserve the right to review and change the Entry Periods and the Eligibility and Entry Conditions as necessary.